Today UN officials and country negotiators agreed on the final text of the Rio+20 declaration, entitled The Future We Want, which includes a call for the global phase-down of the factory-made super-greenhouse gases, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).
This is the first universal recognition of the need to protect the climate by phasing down HFCs, super-greenhouse gases that molecule for molecule warm the climate hundreds to thousands of times more than carbon dioxide. The Declaration is expected to be endorsed by more the than 100 heads of State and government attending the UN Conference on Sustainable Development on Friday. HFCs are factory-made chemicals used in refrigeration and insulating foams.
“This global declaration is an important step toward a Planet free of climate damaging HFCs,” said Durwood Zaelke, President of the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development. “Phasing down HFCs is the biggest, fastest, cheapest piece of climate mitigation available to the world in the next few years, and it should be done immediately under the Montreal Protocol.”
Due in large part to the ongoing phase-out of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) under the Montreal Protocol, HFCs are the fastest growing greenhouse gases in many countries including the US. Globally they are growing 10% to 15% per year, and in the US they grew nearly 9% between 2009 and 2010. Without fast action to limit accelerating growth, the climate warming caused by HFCs could equal nearly 20% of the warming caused by CO2 by 2050, or about the same as current annual emissions from transport, and up to 40% of carbon dioxide warming if CO2 emissions are limited in line with present international goals.
Proposals to amend the Montreal Protocol to phase down HFCs have been presented by the Federated States of Micronesia, as well as the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The proposals would reduce 85% of HFC production and use, achieving climate mitigation equivalent to 100 billion tonnes of CO2 by 2050. This treaty has already phased out nearly 100 chemicals similar to HFCs and set the stratospheric ozone layer on the path to mid-century recovery, while providing critical climate mitigation as well.
More than 100 Parties to the Montreal Protocol have supported action on HFCs, but Brazil, China, and India have held up agreement under that treaty. “This new consensus in Rio shows that momentum is building for a phase-down of HFCs, which inevitably will be through the Montreal Protocol,” said Zaelke.
Voluntary efforts to reduce HFCs use are also underway. The Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short-lived Climate Pollutants, an 18 member group recently launched by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, is making acceleration of climate-safe alternatives to HFCs one of its first fast action initiatives. The Coalition is comprised of 15 countries, plus the European Commission, the UN Environment Program, and the World Bank.
In other developments to reduce short-lived climate pollutants, New York City Mayor Bloomberg announced in Rio, “Today, we’re launching a new partnership with the World Bank, the Climate and Clean Air Coalition that was announced by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in February, and with other key leaders and institutions focused on improving air quality while also lessening climate change impacts. It will support a new C40 network that will help cities address an issue of urgent importance: Improving the management of city solid waste, including reducing the release of methane and other greenhouse gases.”
C40 partners will provide technical assistance to participating cities to develop programs and projects to cut methane emissions, access financing, and facilitate peer-learning and collaborative work. C40 works in partnership with the Clinton Climate Initiative of the William J. Clinton Foundation.
Along with HFCs and black carbon, methane is a key short-lived climate pollutants targeted by the Coalition. Because methane has a short atmospheric lifetime compared to CO2, cutting it can slow global warming quickly. The amount of urban garbage is projected to double over the next 15 years, making landfills a top target for the C40 cities.
Former President Bill Clinton, who spoke at the C40 event in Rio via video conference, said that reducing methane can help delay some of the worst impact of global warming for the next couple of decades. “It will improve the quality of life for everyone.”
The Rio+20 Declaration is here.
The Micronesia Montreal Protocol proposal to amend the Montreal Protocol is here.
The North American Montreal Protocol proposal is here.
